Please Remain Calm
Plot A Police car drove down a crowded highway. In the drivers seat was an older looking cop, around 50, wearing a sheriff's hat and a brown uniform. In the backseat was a black man, in his early 20s. He was handcuffed and had spent the entire journey just staring at his hands in deep thought. "You know what." The Sheriff started, "I don't think you're guilty or this sorta' thing." The young man stayed silent. "Wanna know why?" The Sheriff glanced into the rear mirror several times, catching the look of the man. He looked out the window and watched several other police cars race up and down the highway with their sirens blaring. A lot of people were around, for a highway. It was weird. He sighed. "Why?" The Sheriff smiled, "Because guilty men always insist on telling us how not guilty they are." "I could just be accepting." He replied. "Could be." The Sheriff replied. The car was silent once more, it was eerie, broadcasts kept coming in over the radio which sounded worrying, it sounded as if murders were being committed as they spoke; as the car drove down the highway the young man stared outside the window. ---- "Natasha, I'm home..." He called, walking through the door. There was no reply, which was odd because she was always home around 3pm. "Natasha...?" He called again. He put his bag down on the bench but his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of smashing glass. He ran into the living room to see a trail of blood leading up to a body on the floor. "Natasha!" He screamed, he ran to her side and began to panic. She was laid on the floor, a smashed photo frame featuring a picture of the two was next to her limp hand, along with a phone that she had pulled off the coffee table. Her neck was gushing with blood - it looked like something had taken a bite from it. She began to speak but couldn't get her words out properly. "Matt... I.. love." She pushed out before passing away. Matt burst into tears and held her limp body close to his. "Natasha..." He cried. Outside he could hear commotion. A woman's shrieking voice was heard screaming "In there, in there!" And within a the next 10 seconds several officers smashed through his door and ran into the living room where he was. "Please help." Matt cried slowly moving. "Sir, stay where you are." One officer threatened, holding a gun. Matt looked confused at the Officer, then he looked down at his girlfriend's lifeless body. "Wait, n-no I did-" Before he could finish he was knocked out. ---- "Hey. Hey. You okay?" The Sheriff asked. "I don't know..." Matt meekly replied. He looked out the window again. He was far away from home. At least halfway across the next two states by now. "My life has been destroyed all within a couple of hours." "Wanna hear a funny story?" The Sheriff asked, he looked back at Matt who after a few seconds of hesitation looked up and went to reply, however what happened next, no one could have predicted. "Shit, watch the road!" Matt screamed as the police car hit a wandering man. It veered off the road, smashing through the safety barriers and tumbling down a rocky, grassy hill, smashing into several trees and landing in the middle of a forest on the outskirt of a neighbourhood. Matt drifted in and out of consciousness, in his state he heard gunshots, snarling and a scream. About 20 minutes had passed before Matt eventually came around. As his feelings came back he clenched his leg. "Argh, fuck." He winced. He tried to open the door but it was jammed. "Damn it." He thought for a while and then began kicking the window. It eventually smashed and he managed to crawl out. Over the car he could see the Sheriff lying with no movement. "Hey. HEY." Matt yelled to him, but he didn't respond. A million things were swirling around his head. "Focus." He said to himself. "Handcuffs first." He limped over to the Sheriff who's handcuff keys were on his belt. He gently bent down and picked them up. Even though he wasn't fully aware of what was going on in the world he felt as if the Sheriff was going to spring to life at any moment. He scrambled to use the keys and dropped them, they landed just next to the Sheriff's mouth. Matt took a deep breath and quickly grabbed the keys, sighing a sigh of relief when he grabbed them without a problem. He undid his handcuffs and went back to the police car. He saw the Sheriff's shotgun on the ground. "Why did he need his gun?" He asked himself, he picked it up and found a few shells lying around. As he pondered his next move he heard the Sheriff groan. "Hey, take it easy." Matt suggested helping him move easier, as the Sheriff caught a glance of him he swiped at him and lunged his head forward, attempting to bite him. "What the fuck?" Matt scowled as he fell back, unable to move fast enough. The Sheriff fell to the floor and began slowly crawling towards him, snarling and scratching. "S-s-stay back." Matt panicked. He tried to load the shotgun but dropped the shell out of panic. "Damn it." He looked around for it and as he grabbed it, he noticed a figure at the top of the hill where the neighbourhood was located. "HEY. Get help!" The figure disappeared at his command. Matt turned his attention to the Sheriff again and this time managed to load the shotgun. "Don't come any closer!" He warned as he aimed the shotgun in its face. After realising that the Sheriff wasn't going to stop Matt closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, blasting away a portion of his head and covering Matt's lower half in blood. "Oh my god..." Matt said to himself. He didn't even get time to rest as the noise brought out more things. They came lunging towards him, eyes hanging out, limbs torn off, flesh torn off their bodies and even more gruesome things. He stumbled to his feet and began moving as fast as he could towards the area where the figure was. The things moved quick, well quick compared to someone with a busted leg. He tripped a couple of times and was almost grabbed but he kept going. There was a high, stable fence in front of him that he just managed to pull himself over. As he sat in the unknown garden, which was thankfully empty, his back up against the fence, he surveyed the area. There was a pool covered by a cover, a lone tree in the garden with a treehouse, but no ladder and a wooden shed towards the driveway. Matt sat for a while, he tried to think but the scratching and snarling of those things on the other side of the fence were putting him off. He saw a sliding glass door that he could use to get into the house. He gently opened it and looked around. The area he walked into was all in one; kitchen, living room and dining room. The TV was on, but there was no signal. Matt walked gently around the bench, not realising the pool of blood which he slipped in. He looked at his arms, now dripping with blood, in disgust. He pulled himself up and looked around the kitchen. "Better not take anything." He said to himself, he saw a bottle of water and decided to at least reward himself. He looked towards the fridge and saw a note addressed to someone named Julia, the note mentioned that she should call a certain number if something went wrong. "You have three new messages." Matt's attention was gotten by the phone further down the room. He pressed the button and listened to the three messages. "Hi, Julia, it's Jasmine. We're going to be late getting back. Some asshole went crazy at the convention and started attacking people, including Paul. He's in no state to drive back tonight so we're staying an extra night, we'll pay extra of course, see you soon." "Pay? So she was a babysitter?" Matt asked himself. The beeping of the answer machine returned. "Now playing message #2" "Darren - baby, if you can hear Mommy phone the police. Call 911 and ask them for help." "Now playing message #3" "Darren sweetheart, if you can hear me - Mommy loves you... I love you, I love you... I love-" The message was cut off by gunshots and screaming. Matt couldn't help but feel emotional and sick. Next to the phone was a picture of three people. Two adults and a child. He picked it up. "This must be them." He noticed that the little boy in the picture looked a lot like the kid he saw earlier who he asked for help from. "Hmm.." Matt was deep in thought when an arm swiped at him, knocking the photo to the floor. Matt screamed in fright to see a teenage girl next to him, a massive bite in her arm and blood dripping from it. Her eyes were a milky white and her skin an off pale. She snarled again and swiped at Matt. "Fuck." He said, narrowly avoiding her. He ran into the kitchen to find something but she caught up fast since his leg didn't allow quick movements. She lunged at Matt who moved to the side as quick as he could, she slipped and smashed her head into the bench. She turned around slowly and looked at Matt who was freaking out. She had a smashed forehead but was still moving. Matt slowly moved back and once again slipped on the blood, this time when he fell his neck slammed off the bench. He was beginning to black out when the feeling of his leg being grappled snapped him out of it. He kicked her in the head and scuttled backwards towards the glass door. In his panic he couldn't open the door and keep his eye on the girl. He glanced back once more and saw a young boy standing there with a hammer. The young boy opened the door and handed the hammer to Matt who, with a roar, slammed the hammer into her head as many times as needed. Blood splattered all over, covering Matt who was breathing heavily. "Are-are you okay?" He panted to the young boy. "Uh huh..." The boy replied, keeping his eye on the girl. "Who are you?" "I'm Matt." He gently put his hands on the boys' shoulder. "Are you Darren?" He nodded. "Do you know my parents?" "No, I uh, had to get away from those things." He replied. "Were you hiding in the treehouse?" He nodded again, he pulled a walkie talkie from his pocket. "Julia told me to hide there and take this with me. She would talk to me but a few hours ago I heard her screaming and I got scared, so I pulled the rope ladder up." Darren explained. Matt looked at Julia's smashed, lifeless corpse. "She saved him." Matt thought to himself. He went into the living room and grabbed the throw over from the back of the sofa and placed it over her body. "Are my parents alive?" Darren asked, his eyes filled with terror and sadness. "I-I don't know, maybe." Matt replied. "Look, we need to move - we need to find people." Darren nodded and took Matt's hand, his grip was strong. Matt had known this kid for literally 10 minutes but he knew he had to protect him. "We need protection, food, supplies..." Matt said to Darren. Darren looked up at Matt. "My Uncle Wayne lives a few blocks away, my Mom used to say he had a lot of guns in his house that we weren't supposed to touch." "She told you this?" Matt asked as they walked to the street. "No, I heard her telling my Dad it. I hope they're okay." Matt looked down. He knew they weren't, but he couldn't tell the kid just yet. As they got out to the street there was no one around. But Matt couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. There were a few cars around. Matt saw one had its door open and that the key was still in the ignition. "Get in." Matt said to Darren who climbed in the back. Matt started the car and luckily it sounded smooth, not a lot of noise. He drove a couple minutes down the road, through the more scenic routes. He knew that avoiding a built up area would be the best thing. Matt brought the car to a halt. "Which way now?" He said looking into the rear mirror. Darren pointed to the right and just as he did someone came to his window, frantically banging on it. "Hey you gotta let me in quick, they're after me!" He panicked. Matt gestured the passenger seat and the man ran around and got in. "Drive, quick!" As Matt put his foot down the man sighed a sigh of relief. "Ah, thanks." He smiled, "I'm Joe." "Matt. This is Darren." "Aw cute, yours?" "No, his parents are... on a trip." "Oh got it." Joe said, looking down to avoid an awkward situation. "So, where we going?" Joe asked. "His Uncle's house. He has weapons." "Good." Joe said, after a few more minutes of driving Darren alerted them of his house. Joe and Matt got out first and checked the area. It was clear, at least the immediate area was. Darren followed and together the trio ran into the house. "HOLD IT." A man yelled, cocking a shotgun in their direction. "Uncle Wayne!" Darren called out. The man dropped his gun and broke down to his knees. "D-D-Darren, I can't believe." He cried, hugging his Nephew. "Who are these two?" He asked. "Matt saved me." He said pointing to Matt, and Joe was screaming. Joe rolled his eyes. "Well, it's better we stick together." Wayne agreed, smiling at the two. Darren ran off into the living room at the request of Wayne. "His parents? Paul? Jasmine?" His voice broke when he mentioned Jasmine. It was clear he was from her side of the family. "I don't know... I heard messages on the phone but it didn't sound promising. I know that Paul's-" Wayne buried his face into his hands and sniffed, wiping his eyes in the process. "Don't say it." Wayne stopped Matt from talking. Especially since Darren was so close. "Darren said you had weapons." Joe asked. "We could do with a plan here." "True." Wayne said getting up. "I know the Army are using the shopping mall across town to hold people and figure something out. We should go there." Matt and Joe nodded in agreement. Wayne led Joe and Matt to his attic where he had an array of weapons. Handguns, shotguns, various blunt objects and the likes. Wayne soon spilled that he was a survival nut, but he kept it under wraps. He grabbed three duffel bags and put everything into them. Joe was given a machete and a bowie knife along with two Handguns. Matt took an aruval sword as well as a shotgun and a handgun. Wayne took the rest and also loaded a lot of ammo into each bag. "Wait." Wayne said stopping, "Do you two know how to shoot?" "I've practised a bit with my Dad when I was like 16, I know the basics." Matt responded. "Yeah I did it regularly, it was a hobby of mine and my boyfriend's, you'd think I'd have a gun, but no." Joe replied, surprising Matt. "But you-" "Oh. You think because I'm gay I don't know how to use a gun?!" Joe snapped. "Uh, no, I thought you couldn't because you look like the type of guy who sits around getting high, playing video games, wearing a jockstrap with a baseball cap on whilst sitting on a buttplug waiting for your boyfriend to shave your ass." Matt responded. Joe and Wayne were silent. "Oh okay you're kinda right, well I can." Joe responded. "And I don't use a buttplug it's a-" "HEY DARREN." Wayne purposely yelled to take the conversation away from what it was. "He's not even there." Joe said. "Anything to change this topic." Wayne laughed, Joe shrugged it off, however. As the three stood in an awkward silence the sound of a scream interrupted everything. The three hurried downstairs as fast as they could to see Darren cowering on the sofa as two of those things were snarling and slamming themselves against the window. Wayne grabbed into Darren whilst Joe and Matt stood awkwardly. "Do SOMETHING." Wayne ordered. Joe closed the curtains to which Matt rolled his eyes at. "What else could I do?" He asked. "Okay, that mall is pretty far away." Wayne explained, "I have an army van parked in the neighbourhood garage down the street." The three agreed it was the best option and they began leaving the house. Joe being the best shot took point with Darren behind him, Wayne was behind him and Matt covered the rear. Wayne's street was full of awkward alleys that were dark. It was now getting to around 7pm, but since it was summer they had more light. But those alleys no longer got the sun. Snarling could be heard from various places but they didn't stop to find out. "So we just shoot on sight?" Joe asked. "Pretty much." Wayne responded. "They're dangerous, whatever they are." "So Wayne, where did you get an army van from?" Matt asked. "None of your business." Wayne laughed. The four continued down the street. Luckily they hadn't had to kill any of them. Even thought it was technically okay, they were still unsure if it would have any legal implications further down the line. They approached a garage and Wayne had now taken point. He opened the garage door and revealed the army van. "You drive." Wayne said to Matt, throwing him the keys. The four got into the van and as soon as the van was started a broadcast message kept buzzing through the radio. As Matt drove off Joe began trying to focus on the message. "Bzzt...se..bzzztain...calm." "What?" Joe said to himself. He fiddled with it more until the message came through loud and clear. "Please remain calm." "Why isn't it stopping?" Darren asked as the message kept coming through. It was off putting and very unnerving. Matt began fiddling with it until pretty much the entire group was focused on the radio. You'd think Matt would have learned from this by his last accident. "MATT!" Darren screamed, the three of them looked up and saw a group of those things. The van ploughed straight into them, sending bodies flying, guts and limbs spread over the windscreen. "I can't see." Matt panicked. The things were now slobbering against all of the windows. Joe and Matt looked around panicked and Darren just clutched onto Wayne. Wayne, however, knew what he had to do. "Boys. Please take care of my little Darren." Wayne started. Joe and Matt looked at each other and then looked at Wayne. "But why, you're here?" Wayne shook his head, "Not for long. You need to get out of here and take Darren with you." "Uncle Wayne, no." Darren cried, rubbing his face in his t-shirt. "It's what I gotta do." Wayne pushed Darren into the front seat onto Matt's lap. "I'm gonna get out, take a few out. Grab the ones away from Matt's door and then the three of you run down the pathway. The mall isn't far." He explained. It was met with several "No's" from Darren and a panicked noise from Matt. As Wayne opened the door slightly, and then kicked it full force, sending 4 of the things flying. Matt went to grab him but Joe stopped him. Matt looked at Darren who was longingly looking out the door area. Matt heard a few gunshots and saw the things from his window disappear, Matt, Darren, and Joe lunged out the van, grabbing their bags. As they got out the things grabbed onto their bags. "Leave them!" Joe ordered. Matt dropped it. Joe noticed Wayne's bag on the floor and quickly swiped it. As the things were feasting on Wayne's corpse the other three darted down the pathway. "What now?" Matt panted as he put Darren onto the floor. Darren didn't say anything, he just clutched onto Matt's waist. Joe was about to respond several screams interrupted their thoughts. They looked east into the forest and heard rustling in the bushes next to them. FIN